Slimmed Down Ray Lewis Ready For 17th Season

BALTIMORE, MD - JANUARY 15: Ray Lewis #52 of the Baltimore Ravens yells as he runs onto the field prior to the start of the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium on January 15, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — In preparation for his 17th NFL season, Ray Lewis decided the best way to cope with his advancing age was to reduce his waistline.

The 38-year-old linebacker began training camp with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday much lighter than his listed playing weight of 240 pounds. Lewis wouldn’t reveal his exact weight, but said he’s never weighed less since coming to Baltimore in 1996.

A 13-time Pro Bowl star, Lewis has built a reputation through his punishing hits on quarterbacks and running backs. Although that’s always going to be his calling card, Lewis figures he can be a better LB by losing some lbs.

“The game is changing. The game isn’t any more (about) 250, 260-pound fullbacks,” he said. “You don’t have the offenses running the ball 25, 30, 40-plus times. Passing is just happening more.”

Lewis has maintained a high level of play throughout his career by adapting to his surroundings and keeping his body in excellent shape. He may be pushing 40, but he has no intention of coming off the field on a third-and-9.

“People want to find mismatches here, there. So, you just change with the game,” Lewis said. “If everybody runs, who can’t run? So for me, that’s kind of what my thought process was coming into these next years. The lighter you get, the lighter you play, and you just feel better. You feel better because you have the wisdom to go off and do whatever you want to do. I just think playing a little lighter is a lot smarter for me.”

Lewis has already played 222 NFL games, made 2,586 tackles and notched 40 1/2 sacks. There’s no telling how high those numbers will get before he begins to think about retirement.

“I would be a very selfish person if I thought about that day, because until passion leaves you for the game, then that’s impossible to think about,” he reasoned. “To ever think about walking away from what I’ve been born to do in one phase of my life. I love the game too much, and I have a great connection to Baltimore, and as long as I am playing and my body feels great, then I’ll keep doing it.”

Lewis doesn’t just play for the fun of it. He’s all about winning. He already has one Super Bowl ring, and he spent the past 11 years striving to get another. His bid last season fell tantalizingly short when the Ravens lost to New England 23-20 in the AFC title game.

The narrow defeat was a crushing blow to Lewis, but he used the occasion to put on a display of leadership that resonates within the core of the team to this day.

“You’re a pro, you always think about what you could have done better, how you felt, and quite frankly, that was not the best feeling,” running back Ray Rice said. “But we had a great leader pull us back together, and that was No. 52. Without him in that locker room at that moment, I don’t think the gelling would have come back. Ray Lewis brought us together as a team, and you’ll see a team come out here with pride, ready to come out here and practice.”

The Ravens have plenty of coaches but only one leader on the field: Lewis, their starting linebacker since the team arrived from Cleveland. He is the voice of experience, perhaps the one man on the roster capable of putting the proper perspective on an agonizing loss.

“There is a lot of pain in this world, real pain. People look toward us during games to be courageous in the times of loss in big defeats like that,” he said. “It’s OK to still be a man. It’s OK to walk up and congratulate somebody else because they won. Those are the things that I think make you appreciate every moment.”

Ravens linebacker Courtney Upshaw, the team’s top draft pick in 2012, was a 6-year-old when Lewis made his Baltimore debut. The Lewis that Upshaw saw Thursday was a far different version than the rookie who played for Ted Marchibroda so long ago.

“It’s just being blessed, that I’ve been able to maintain through my injuries and through the ups and downs of this game,” Lewis said. “I think it’s a credit to my work ethic and just everything that I’ve bought into over the years. And every year I’m always trying to change, always trying to come back better for my team.”